Heart & Blood Pressure

About heart: It is a muscle about the size of your fist that weighs approximately one pound and it is located behind and slightly to the left of the breastbone. The heart pumps about 5 quarts (4.7 liters) of blood every minute or 1800 gallons (6768 liters) of blood every day. A healthy heart beats steadily and rhythmically at a rate of about 60 to 100 beats per minute when at rest (normal sinus rhythm). During strenuous exercise, the heart can increase the amount of blood it pumps up to four times the amount it pumps at rest, within only a matter of seconds.

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. High blood pressure (HBP) means the pressure in your arteries is higher than it should be. Another name for high blood pressure is hypertension. Blood pressure is written as two numbers, such as 117/79 mm Hg. The top, systolic, number is the pressure when the heart beats & The bottom, diastolic, number is the pressure when the heart rests between beats